Where have I been? Rather the question should be, Where haven't I been?! This has been the busiest few weeks and will continue to be busy until Easter! I've had a lot to do, a lot to think about, and lots of people to see.
Last week I went to Portland to visit my sister and help her pick out her wedding dress. We had a great time, but it was a nonstop kind of weekend!
This week begins Lent, which started yesterday, Ash Wednesday. I helped preside that service with 2 other pastors in the area. I also have written 2 sermons! One for Sunday, and one for our Sunday evening Lent cluster worship service. I also have to take our confirmation kids to the Confirmation Rally this coming Saturday, which will be a LONG day...I'm tired already! AND we've been dealing with strange people calling the office, wanting help, and when you try to talk to them, they hang up! People are so crazy sometimes! Must be something in the water...
In the midst of all this, I've found that this topic keeps surfacing in my sermons, my Nooma class, and just people in general asking about "God's plan." Is there really a plan? Is everything coincidence? We have choices, so how does "God's plan" fit into the choices we make? Why does it matter what we do if everything in our lives is mapped out for us?
This played out a little in my sermon about Genesis and Adam and Eve in the garden when they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We read in Genesis that God created male and female, the animals, the garden, and the tree...and placed it in the middle of the garden and told Adam and Eve that they can touch everything....except that!! It's an open invitation if you ask me! If God didn't want them to touch it, why even put it there? Here's my take on it. I think that God wanted them to eat of it and receive the knowledge of good and evil. God doesn't want us to be ignorant beings who do not challenge anything and do not explore this crazy life we are given. Adam and Eve made a choice, and their eyes were opened to their humanity at it's core- the good, the bad, the messiness, etc. Knowledge is wonderful, but can also be painful. For me, it all comes down to human nature. It is in our nature to struggle with choices- right and wrong, good and bad, risky or not risky. It is also our choice to follow and love God. This mythological story of Adam and Eve teaches us that we all turn away from God by our actions now and then, but God calls us back and offers us the free gift of grace. Is everything planned out or does God have a plan for us? Maybe, but I believe it is our freedom of choice that makes us who we are, and God is that guidance that calls us to make good choices and choices that will honor God and others around us.
I hate hearing people tell someone who has suffered a tragic loss, "It was in God's will that this should happen." What? It was God's will to let someone suffer and die in a tragic way? I don't think so! It's the unfortunate circumstance of the human condition that leads to violence and tragedy, and at the end of the day, bad things happen, and there's nothing we can do about it sometimes. I keep going back to this idea of asking not "why?" but "who?" instead. When Job asks God why these things are happening to him, God gives him the answer...he does not explain WHY, but he explains WHO created, WHO loves, WHO redeems...and the answer is always God.
My other sermon touched on this question that Jesus asks his disciples shortly before his death: Who do YOU say that I am? As we begin Lent, we should reflect on this question. Who is Jesus to us really? What role does he play in our spiritual and everyday lives? Is this really an easy question for us to answer, and are we ready to come to terms with what it means to claim Jesus as Lord?
I hope to spend some time re-evaluating this question for myself as Lent unfolds. What about you?
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